04 Spaghetti Yeti

Spaghetti Yeti First things first. As soon as Judy got home, she pulled her hair back into two Jessica Finch ponytails. Then she cleaned up her room like a friend without an R. F-I-E-N-D, spelling word #23 on Mr. Todd's homework list. Definition: maniac. She huffed and puffed, picking up books and games and art supplies and stuffed animals. Yawn-o-rama. Mouse watched her every move. She huffed and puffed more putting away shirts and shorts and socks and pajamas. Bor-ing times two! Mouse pounced on a sock. "Give it. It's not play time, Mouse. I wish."

She even tossed her finger knitting into the closet. Jessica Finch was cuckoo-for-coconuts if she thought cleaning your room could put you in a good mood. Next Judy did her this-week homework. Read, read, read. Spell, spell, spell. Multiply. Divide. Done! Doing her homework on time did not put her in a good mood. "Now what, Mouse?" Judy asked. She checked her notebook. Eureka! She, Judy Moody, had an idea. Judy dug and dug like a badger to the way- back of her closet. She pulled out her last-year Christmas presents. Under the hand-knitted dancing mouse sweater from Grandma Lou was

a present from Nana and Gramps in California. It was not a way-cool Make-Your-Own Gum kit. It was not a way-cool Make-Your-Own Seashell Night-Light kit. It was a Make-Your-Own Lip Gloss kit! Cotton candy, chocolate, cupcake!! Double exclamation point!!

Last Christmas, Judy would not have been caught dead wearing smelly lip gloss. But that was before the Jessica experiment. She had to try it now— in the name of good moods. Judy did not want to mess up her clean room, so she messed up the bathroom instead. Warm water, sticky hands, smelly flavor and... voilà! Cupcake lip gloss. Mww! Mww! Mww! Judy looked in the mirror and smacked her lips. Yum, yum. She licked her lips. Oops. Now she needed more lip stuff. Smack, smack, smack. Lip-smacking good! Cupcake lip stuff did put her in a bit of a better mood. Who knew? Judy went back to her room. Sing a song of tuna fish! Her finger-knitting chain snaked and snarled out the closet door, up, over, and

around the doorknob, across the dresser, and onto the floor, where Mouse was curled up sleeping on a heap of it. Judy tugged an end out from under Mouse. "Who yarn bombed my clean room, Mouse?" she said. "Don't even try to say it was Stink." At last, she had time for her new rave— finger knitting. She went to her closet to get some more yarn. But there was no more yarn. Not one ball. Not one skein. Not even a snippet. She was O-U-T out. Judy ran downstairs. "Mom! Mom! Can we go to Bullseye? It's a yarn emergency!" "Sorry, honey," said Mom. "All this yarn costs money. Let's wait and ask Grandma Lou for some yarn next time we see her." "But...!" Judy was about to say it was so not

fair. Judy was about to say she could not wait. Judy was about to stomp up the stairs. But that would mean she was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. Judy dashed back upstairs. Her frowny-face mood pillow glared at her. It was only GMD #1, Good Mood Day Number One. Judy had to be stomp-free for the rest of the week. This being in a good mood all the time sure was not as easy-peasy, mac-andcheesy as it looked. Judy went badgering in her closet again. She pulled out the hand-knitted dancing mouse sweater from Grandma Lou. The mouse had fluffy ears and a fluffy tummy and a fluffy tail. Judy pulled at the pink fluff. Oops! Look at that. A thread came loose.